‘Servant’ Has Perfected The Half-Hour Horror Series

True to its producer’s reputation, the cult-hit Servant has always punched above its weight. Along with Split and Glass, it was the third project that sent the message it was OK to release M. Night Shyamalan from director jail. It was also among one of Apple TV+‘s first originals. Launched weeks after The Morning Show, See, and For All Mankind, Servant cemented the budding streaming service’s brand as one that prioritized quality and originality above all else. But, for me, the true legacy of Servant will rest in its runtimes. During an age of television when most creators seem to think more is better, Tony Basgallop’s drama was able to find true terror through limitation.

As a general rule, horror on television has become bloated. Mike Flanagan’s universe — The Haunting of Hill House, The Haunting of Bly Manor, and Midnight Mass in particular — is defined by hour-plus sagas filled with jump scares and emotional monologues. More often than not, American Horror Story and its spinoff American Horror Stories have kept their runtimes to a standard 42 minutes per episode. But in AHS‘ case, seasons often run a couple of episodes too long; as for Stories, most episodes drag in their final minutes. Of course, Stranger Things and its ungodly two-and-a-half-hour Season 4 finale is the worst example of this trend. It’s an odd problem to have considering that in film, horror is a genre that’s notorious for short runtimes. The goal is to get in, get the scream, and get out.

Only Servant has kept this unspoken rule in mind throughout its four seasons. Despite all of its twists and turns, the Apple TV+ drama has always been careful not to overstay its welcome. You can count on nearly every episode of Servant to contain three mile markers: a food scene that’s as gorgeous as it is unsettling, a quip from Julian (Rupert Grint), and a plunge into psychological terror that makes you want to look away even though you can’t. After those three beats are hit, Servant wraps up with a camera flourish that’s so artistic it feels like a wink to the audience. In, scream, out.

This quick approach feels more in line with this genre’s roots than the remorseful lingering of other series. And more than that, Servant understands that, on some level, horror needs to be fun. Yes, tension and jump scares are important, but so are the jokes and side-eyes away from all the gore. Horror requires these moments of levity to give the audience a break and let them remember what it’s like to return to “normal.” It’s only then, when everyone’s guard is down, that the next jump scare can really thrill. By keeping its episodes at a tight 20 or so minutes each, Servant has been able to maintain this brisk pace while giving its big moments of terror room to land.

Horror — a genre that used to barely appear on the smaller screen — has been having a certified television moment. Over the past several years there’s been room for all sorts of shows, from cult series like Ash vs Evil Dead and Black Summer to HBO’s recent Sunday night hit, The Last of Us. But through it all, only one series has consistently paid homage to the genre without trying to reinvent anything or shove it into a TV-approved box. Servant, I have no idea how you’re going to end, but it’s been a hell of a ride.

New episodes of Servant premiere on Apple TV+ on Fridays.